Lock mechanism



Ma N

Feb. 2, 1954 N. SCHMITT 2,667,778

LOCK MECHANISM Filed Jan. 14, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 'i I so INVENTOR. N ICKOLAS S c HMITT Feb. 2, 1954 N. SCHMITT 2,667,778

LOCK MECHANISM 4 Filed Jan. 14, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. N ICKOLAS SCHMIT-r apart by the V-shaped cap 34 when the push button 3'0 is depressed. This in turn will cause pivotal movement of the dogs about the pin I2, thereby opening the dogs l4 and Hi.

In order to prevent the look from rattling or otherwise becoming noisy, as may be the case when it becomes worn and old, the dogs I l and [B are designed so that they will never have any clearance between their inner surfaces and the pin I8. This is effected by making the inner curvatures it and A2 concentric near their open ends concentric with that of the pin [2. Near the closed ends, the curvatures 48 and 42 converge toward the aXis of pin [2. Thus, when the curvatures .8 and 52 become worn, the spring 26 will press the dogs i i and It further closed to a position where the curvatures til and 42 again are snug with the pin l8.

One of the important features of the present invention which was broadly disclosed in the aforesaid application are the means provided to prevent spreading of the dogs Hi and It. As seen in Fig. 1, a plunger i extend into the housing ill and abuts the edges of the dogs it and [6 so that the latter are not free to pivot and therefore are in a locked position, preventing them from being opened to release the pin l8. In order to open the dogs it and it, it is only necessary that the pin c be withdrawn from the path of pivotal movement of said dogs. Preferably this pin will be withdrawn axially as is disclosed in the several embodiments of the present invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of the present invention mounted in the doors of a conventional automobile. As there shown, the push buttons 3B are the only portion of the locks which extend outwardly from the body of said automobile and they are located below the door handles 59 so that the doors of the automobile can be readily opened merely by depressing the push buttons and simultaneously pulling on the door handles.

In this embodiment, the pin !8A is mounted in a fixed position in the center post 52 of the automobile, and the lockis mounted in the door behind the flange 5 which overlaps the center post 52. As is believed readily understood, when the push button 353 is depressed, the V-shaped cap 34 will cause pivotal movement of the dogs I4 and i6 about the pin 12 so that the dogs l4 and i6 release the pin 13A to permit opening of the door 56. When the door as is swung closed, the ends of dogs hi and it will first contact pin [8A, and by virtue of their curved edges, will be spread apart against the biasing action of spring 26 to permit the slots 22 to overlap pin l8A and thereby hold the door 55 in a closed position. One of the desirable features of this modification is that the lock does not require oil or grease, and, therefore, will always be clean. Thus, clothing or the like will not be soiled by contacting the same.

There are other various constructions and arrangements that may be utilized for locking the dogs [4 and iii in a closed position. A manually operated plunger, such as is indicated by the reference number Mi in Fig. 1 may be used. An embodiment of the invention by which the dogs I4 and MS may be remotely locked in place is shown in Fig. 4. Here the plunger 44B is remotely controlled by means of a solenoid 69 which is operated by a conventional electric circuit, not shown. If'desired, this circuit can be located so that the driverof the motor vehicle can lock instrument panel. Likewise, such an arrangement is very suitable when the present invention is used in airplanes or the like, where it is desired to control by remote means the opening and closing of the doors.

Referring next to Fig. 5, an embodiment of the present invention is shown wherein the dogs l and i 6 can be locked in place by means of aconventional automobile door lock 62. In this embodiment, a crank E l is caused to rotate by turning a key in the lock 62. This, in turn, causes axial movement of plunger 440 which is connected to crank 64 by the pins 55, thereby selectively looking or releasing the dogs i i and H5.

The present look mechanism may also be very advantageously used for holding down the hood of a motor vehicle. This arrangement can be seen in Fig. 6, wherein the hood of motor vehicle 12 is held in a closed position by the lock shown at 14. The latter may be connected in any suitable manner by a support bracket or the like (not shown) which is joined to a stationary portion of the vehicle. The pin |8D is joined to the hood by the flange it and is adapted to be held by the does It and I6.

Located on the instrument panel 82' of the motor vehicle is a handle 32 to which is attached the cable 84. The latter is joined to one arm of the bell crank 85 which. is pivotally mounted at 88. The other arm of the bell crank abuts the push button 30. Thus a remote operating means for the push button 35 is provided by which the operator can cause the dogs it and it to release the pin [8D merely by drawing on the handle 82.

A conventional compression spring 91"; is provided so that when the operator causes the dogs i and P8 to release pin l8D, the spring 9!! will bias the hood upwardly away from dogs id and It. Any suitable manually operated safety catch mechanism (not shown) such as is now conventional on motor vehicles, may be employed, if desired, to hold the hood Ill in a partially closed position. As is well known, such safety catch mechanisms are adapted to be manually opened to permit the hood to be swung to a fully opened position, and thus, the hood will not accidentally swing open while the motor vehicle is in motion.

From the foregoing it is to be seen that many applications can be made of the present locking mechanism. It can be opened by direct or remote operating means, and similarly, the dogs thereof can be locked either by direct or remote means. Further, the dogs can be so constructed and arranged as to have primary and secondary holding means to prevent a car door or the like from accidentally opening.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A lock device comprising a lock having a pair of pivotally mounted dogs adapted when closed to hold a pin, spring means for urging said dogs to a closed position and a push button for spreading said dogs to release said pin, and a means extending from a remote position into said lock and abutting against said dogs to prevent the latter from swinging to an open position, said means being operable from the remote position to be withdrawn, for releasing said dogs so that the same can be opened.

2. A latch device comprising a lock including a frame structure with a transverse slot extending into one end thereof for receiving a pin, a pair of oppositely disposed dogs pivotally mounted in said frame structure and adapted to hold said pin, a push rod mounted on the other end of said housing and having its one end extending mto said frame structure, and projections extending from said dogs to opposite sides of said one end of the push rod and adapted to be spread apart by the latter to open said dogs and release said pin, and a mechanism extending from a remote position into said latch to prevent said dogs from being opened, said mechanism including a plunger extending into said frame structure and engaging at least one of said dogs to prevent the same from being pivoted to an open position, and means operable from said remote position to move said plunger out of the path of pivotal movement of said dogs so that the latter can be opened.

3. A locking device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means to move the plunger comprises a solenoid enclosing one end of said plunger.

4. A locking device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means to move the plunger comprises a key-operated lock adapted to move said plunger upon rotation of the key in the lock.

5. A latch device comprising a lock including a frame structure with a transverse slot extending into one end thereof for receiving a pin, a pair of oppositely disposed dogs pivotally mounted in said frame structure to grip said pin, a push rod mounted on the other end of said housing and having its one end extending into said housing, and projections extending from said dogs to opposite sides of said one end of the push rod and adapted to be spread apart by the latter to open said dogs and release said pin, and a mechanism extending from a remote position into said latch to prevent said dogs from being opened, said mechanism including a plunger slidably mounted in said frame structure for axial movement so that when the plunger is moved in one direction it will abut at least one of said dogs to prevent opening thereof.

6. A latch device comprising a lock including a frame structure with a transverse slot extending into one end thereof for receiving a pin, a pair of oppositely disposed dogs pivotally mounted in said frame structure to grip said pin,

a push rod mounted on the other end of said 1:

frame structure and having its one end extending into said frame structure and projections extending from said dogs to opposite sides of said one end of the push rod and adapted to be spread apart by the latter to open said dogs and release said pin, and a remote operating means for depressing said push rod so as to open the dogs of said lock.

7. A look device as claimed in claim 6 wherein said remote operating means comprises a bell crank having its one arm engaging the end of said push rod so as to move the latter when said arm is pivoted, and the other arm having a cable attached thereto for pivoting said bell crank.

8. A latch adapted to engage a pin comprising a frame structure having a slot formed in one end for receiving the pin, a transverse shaft mounted in said frame structure inward of said slot, a pair of oppositely disposed dogs pivotally mounted on said shaft for holding said pin, the holding surface of each of said clogs adjacent the distal ends of the latter being substantially concentric with the axis of said shaft with the remainder of the holding surface of each dog gradually converging toward said axis so that when said dogs are being fully closed they will draw said pin toward their pivotal mounting, a spring actuated push rod mounted in the other end of said frame structure and having its one end extending toward said transverse shaft, projections extending from said dogs to opposite sides of said one end of the push rod and adapted to be spread apart when the latter is moved against the action of its spring to open said dogs, said dogs each having at least two notches for holding the pin so that the outermost pair can act as a safety catch.

9. A latch adapted to engage a pin comprising a frame structure having a slot formed in one end for receiving the pin, a transverse shaft mounted in said frame structure inward of said slot, a pair of oppositely disposed dogs pivotally mounted on said shaft for holding said pin, the holding surface of each of said dogs adjacent the distal ends of the latter being substantially concentric with the axis of said shaft with the remainder of the holding surface of each dog gradually converging toward said axis so that when said dogs are being fully closed they will draw said pin toward their pivotal mounting. actuating means extending from said frame structure and associated with said dogs for separating the holding surfaces of said dogs, means for urging said dogs to a closed position, and said dogs each having at least two notches for holding the pin so that the outermost pair can act as a safety catch.

10. A latch adapted to engage a pin comprising a frame structure having a slot formed in one end for receiving the pin, a transverse shaft mounted in said frame structure inward of said slot, a pair of oppositely disposed dogs pivotally mounted on said shaft for holding said pin, the holding surface of each of said dogs adjacent the distal ends of the latter being substantially concentric with the axis of said shaft with the remainder of the holding surface of each dog gradually converging toward said axis so that when said dogs are being fully closed they will draw said pin toward their pivotal mounting, actuating means extending from said frame structure and associated with said dogs for separating the holding surfaces of said dogs, and means for urging said dogs together.

NICKOLAS SCHMITT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 258,344 Altemiller May 23, 1882 275,706 Engclhardt Apr. 10, 1883 845,729 LeBerge Feb. 26, 1907 930,262 Zimmerman Aug. 3, 1909 2,506,943 Shreve May 9, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,599 Great Britain Apr. 29, 1914 76,505 Sweden May 1, 1931 

